A lead-up race at Sandown prior to flying out to Hong Kong for December’s significant race meeting is quite unusual in the current racing calendar, but trainer Gavin Bedggood is approaching this challenge with a confident outlook.
Kingswood delivered a surprise result for many followers when he triumphed at $26 in the Group 1 Caulfield Cup (2400m) on October 17. While he is not expected to be at those odds again this Saturday at Sandown, his trainer anticipates a strong showing before the horse travels to Hong Kong for the Group 1 Hong Kong Vase (2400m) on December 13.
The six-year-old received his first mandatory inoculation for the trip just days after his Caulfield Cup victory, with his booster scheduled for a few days after his next outing, the Group 2 Zipping Classic (2400m).
“Four weeks between runs allowed us to give him a quiet week and we’d had to tighten the screws again since,” Bedggood commented after Kingswood galloped at Caulfield on Tuesday.
“I’d like to see him win again this week. To be going over there and racing on the world stage, he’d have to be winning or being unlucky not to win for me not to want to go.”
Kingswood is set to become the first Caulfield Cup winner to contest the Zipping Classic in the same year since Bunratty Castle achieved the feat in 1968.
Under the handicap conditions at the time, Bunratty Castle carried 8 stone 11 pounds, or just over 55.5kg, while Kingswood will carry 59kg under the current weight-for-age conditions.
Bedggood is determined to field a competitive runner in Hong Kong and has maintained the same focused approach that saw him quickly return to his regular routine following the Caulfield Cup success.
“When I got to work on the Monday morning and you have to open the front gate at 2:45am, it was back to normal,” he added.
The trainer was pleased with the grey gelding’s gallop at Caulfield on Tuesday in preparation for his return to racing at Sandown.
Kingswood is the $4 second favourite in early markets for the Zipping Classic, behind the Joseph O’Brien-trained Small Fry at $2.10.